Directory Services, University of Cincinnati

Blackboard OneStop Libraries BOL E-mail UCMail UCFileSpace

Student Planner
Campus & IT Handbook

Blackboard Learning Systems

BLACKBOARD LEARNING SYSTEM AT UC - STUDENT INFORMATION

http://blackboard.uc.edu/

Blackboard offers you easy access to course materials, University resources, and personal tools from any computer connected to the Internet. Listed below is some introductory information that can help you successfully use the Blackboard Learning System at UC.

Please note that all users must adhere to UC’s General Policy on the use of Information Technology (http://www.uc.edu/ucit/policies/infotechuse.html).

For detailed instructions on how to use the application, click on the “Bb Support” tab (you will need to have pop-up blockers turned “off”) in your Blackboard account or go directly to the documentation page at: http://blackboard.uc.edu/support. If you still have questions about Blackboard or your account, or if you need technical assistance, please call or e-mail the Blackboard Support Team at:
513-556-1602, blackboard@uc.edu.

GETTING STARTED

Users must activate their accounts to access the Blackboard system. To activate your account, you must be an official University student and enrolled in a current quarter course.

1.	Open http://blackboard.uc.edu in a web browser.
2.	Click on the “Click here to activate your account” link.
3.	Complete all information and click “Submit.”
4.	Your Blackboard username and password will be confirmed on this screen. Record this information or print the page for reference! Confirmation will also be sent to the e-mail address provided.
5.	Click on the “Click Here to Login” link.
6.	Enter your Blackboard username and password and click on the “Submit” button.
7.	You will see the "My UC” page in your Blackboard account.

Password or Login Problems?

If you have forgotten your password, click on the “Forgot your password?” link at the bottom of the login box. Fill in the information requested and click on the “Submit” button. A message will be sent to the e-mail address registered for the user name with instructions on how to change the password.

NOTE: If you no longer have access to this e-mail account or if your e-mail address is not listed in Blackboard correctly, you will not receive an e-mail or be able to change your password yourself. Instead, you will need to have your password changed in person. For security reasons, you MUST bring a picture ID to one of the following locations to have you password reset:

Applied Science - Admin 402A	556-6581
Clermont - 9 Peter Jones Bldg	732-5216
Raymond Walters - 112C MUNTZ	513-936-7109 or 745-5693
Uptown Campus East - 222 French East	558-5708
Uptown Campus West - 410 ZIMMER	556-1602

Using Blackboard

Once you log into your Blackboard account, you will see the “My UC” page in your browser window. You can always return to this page by clicking the “My UC” tab at the top of your screen. This screen lists all of the courses you are taking, announcements posted by the University or your instructors, and other information in boxes called “modules” that can be changed or customized by each user.

To enter your courses, simply click on the name of the course you wish to enter in the “My Courses” box. From there, navigate through the course by clicking the buttons or text labels on the left side of the screen.

Customizing Your Account

Blackboard allows you to customize the way your “My UC” screen appears by changing the color scheme and which “modules” (or boxes) display when you first log in. To customize the look of the modules, click the “Modify Content” or “Modify Layout” buttons in the upper right hand corner of the My UC page. You can change features of an individual module by clicking on the pencil in the upper right corner of the module title bar.

You can also edit your user profile by clicking the Personal Information link in the Blackboard Tools section of the “My UC” page on the left side of the screen. From here you can:

1.	Edit Personal Information – change your name, e-mail address, and other information that appears in your user profile.
2.	Change Password - manage your account password. It is recommended that you change your password periodically to ensure security. We suggest using numbers or other characters so that your password is not easy to guess.
3.	Set Privacy Options – specify what personal profile information appears in the User Directory. (By default, settings exclude the user profile from the User Directory.)

Courses Don’t Appear on Blackboard?

Your courses should appear in the “My Courses” box on your main My UC page when you first log in. If none of your courses appear, or if some courses are missing, then that means one of two things:

1.	You are not yet registered for the course. - There is at least a 24 to 48 hour delay after registering for a course before it will appear in your Blackboard account.
2.	Your instructor has NOT made their Blackboard course available. - If you know you are registered for your course, or if your instructor refers to content within the course, but it still does not appear on your course list, then you will need to CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR FOR MORE INFORMATION.

E-mail Not Received Through Blackboard?

This problem could happen for several reasons:

1.	Your "Personal Information" may have an incorrect e-mail address in Blackboard.
2.	You may be over your quota for the e-mail address that you have chosen to use in Blackboard.
3.	Your e-mail provider may have anti-spam filters in place that would affect delivery of mail.

If you have an invalid e-mail address in your "Personal Information" within BlackBoard, any e-mail that is sent to you will be returned to the sender with an error message.

To check your personal information within Blackboard:

1.	Click the “Personal Information” link in the Tools section of the "My UC" page on the left side of the screen.
2.	Then click on Edit Personal Information.
3.	Scroll down to the field labeled “e-mail” and enter your e-mail address. This address should include a ‘@’ sign, and at least one period after the @ sign. It will usually end in ‘.edu’, ‘.com’, ‘.gov’ or ‘.org’.
4.	All e-mail providers have a limit (quota) on the amount of mail that you can store on their system at one time. If you reach or exceed this limit, they will no longer accept mail for your account and they will return the message to the sender with an error message. It is important that you monitor your quota to ensure that your mail will be delivered. If you are using BOL, you can check your quota by logging into your account and looking for the “quota thermometer” (bar) at the top of your screen. The level of the thermometer will tell you how close you are to reaching your allowed quota.

Many e-mail providers have implemented anit-spam measures to protect their systems, as well as their users. AOL has an anti-spam measure will not allow the AOL e-mail system to accept any e-mail sent from outside the AOL system that is addressed from an AOL e-mail address. Both Hotmail and Yahoo have anti-spam measures in place that will automatically route an e-mail message that their filters determine to be “bulk mail” into their “Bulk Mail” or “Junk Mail” folders. You can modify these settings on both e-mail systems by clicking on the “Options” link.

Assignments – How to Send to an Instructor
Students complete the assignment in a separate file and send it back to the instructor through their course menu. To send an assignment to your instructor:

1.	Click on the “View/Complete Assignment” link for the assignment file within your course.
2.	Enter any comments for the instructor in the Comments box under Assignment Materials
3.	Click “Browse,” locate the file to attach. You can also add more than one file to your assignment.
4.	Click “Save” to submit your assignment later, or
5.	Click “Submit” to send your assignment.

NOTE: Once an assignment is submitted to your instructor, it is no longer available.

Digital Drop Box – How to Use
Sending documents using the Digital Drop Box can now be a one-step process. You should already have your document created and saved on your hard drive or floppy disk. To send it to your instructor:

1.	From within the course, click on the “Course Tools” button and then in the next screen choose the “Digital Drop Box.”
2.	Click the “Send File” button.
3.	Under File Information, enter a title for the document you wish to send.
4.	Next, browse for the file you wish to send to your instructor and then select the file by clicking the “Open” button.
5.	Once all the information is complete, click the Submit button. It will return you to the Digital Drop Box where you will see an entry stating that your file was submitted.

Discussion Board – How to Use
The Discussion Board allows students and instructors to post messages and participate in online discussions. To post a message:

1.	Click the “Communications” link in the Course Tools box, and then in the next screen choose “Discussion Board.”
2.	Click on the forum title (link) where you want to post a message.
3.	Click the “Add New Thread” button in the upper left-hand side of the screen.
4.	Enter a subject for your post and then type your message in the text box.
5.	If you want to attach a file or post a paper with your message, click the “Browse” button at the bottom of the screen and select the file you wish to attach. (Instructor must allow this setting.)
6.	Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the screen to save the changes to Blackboard.

Collaboration Tools (chat) – How to Use
There are two tools used for collaboration: the Virtual Classroom and the Lightweight Chat. Both allow real time discussions between users in the course. To use either of the tools:

1.	Click the “Communications” button and then in the next screen choose “Collaboration.”
2.	At the Collaboration Sessions screen, the sessions list will be displayed listing the name of the session, the tool used (or type of session - Virtual Classroom or Lightweight Chat), the start date, and end date.
3.	To enter a session, click on the “Join” button to the far right of the session name.
4.	The Blackboard Launch Tool will appear and a new dialogue box will appear in a new screen.
5.	To participate in the discussion, type your text in the “compose” dialogue box under the white board area on the right hand side and then hit the “send” button.

Student Organization on Blackboard - How To Request

Requests for student organizations on Blackboard must be submitted to Student Activities and Leadership Development. Approval for a student organization on Blackboard is based on the same criteria required for approval of any official university student group. It must be registered in that office to receive the full rights and privileges of a campus based club or organization.

Troubleshooting Tips – Using the Blackboard Software

Use only a supported browser (see http://blackboard.uc.edu/support)
Check the browser settings to ensure that cookies and java are enabled.
Make sure that you have “pop-up” blockers turned off.
Clear the cache in your web browser before beginning your session.
Temporarily turn off firewalls while working in Blackboard.
Turn off web accelerators while working in Blackboard.

Taking Tests in Blackboard – Important Tips to Follow

The single most common problem with online test taking occurs when a student’s computer loses connectivity with the Blackboard server. If this occurs during test taking, it is very likely that your answers will be lost. There are a number of things you should do to minimize the likelihood of this problem occurring both before and during the online assessment. Use the handy checklist below to minimize problems during the exam.

When taking a test in Blackboard, you SHOULD:

Use the current version and correct settings of Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers. This information can be found on our support site under the System Requirements section at http://blackboard.uc.edu/support.
Use a reliable and, if possible, fast internet connection (DSL, cable, broadband).
Check the inactivity timeout period set by your Internet Service Provider and find out if it can be disabled or if there is a way to work around it before you begin the test.
Have scrap paper handy to write down your answers as you take the test as a back-up in case your test submission is not successful.
Log out and back into Blackboard just before beginning a test to ensure you have the maximum 3 hour time period to take the test.
Periodically click the “Save” button during the test to record your answers. This option will only appear if all of the test questions are presented on one screen.

During the test, you SHOULD NOT:

Resize or minimize the browser window.
Use the Back button on your browser.
Double click on the link to begin the test or on any buttons or links inside the test.
Leave the test window open and unattended for any period of time.

If you do experience technical difficulties during your exam, contact your instructor via e-mail immediately to alert them to the problem. Be as descriptive as possible in your e-mail about what you were doing when the problem occurred, including the date and time in your description.

IT Handbook
Blackboard Learning System | Computer and Network Services
Frequently Used Numbers | Security Basics and Virus Information
Social Web Site Safety | Telephone Services
UC Mobile

UCit, Directory Services PO Box 210107 Cincinnati, OH 45221-0107 E-Mail: Directory.Services@UC.Edu

     Contact Us | University of Cincinnati | 2600 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45221
     Undergraduate Admission: 513-556-1100 | Graduate Admission: 513-556-4335
     University Information: 513-556-6000 | Copyright Information ©